The Feltron Reports are a very interesting way of attempting to encapsule an entire year’s worth of information into charts and graphs.

2007 Report: The presentation is definitely visually appealing, but not always easily read or interpreted.  I felt some information was easier to comprehend than others, and often desired additional metadata to understand the material but none such was available.  For example, the shopping section lists “Meteorites purchased.”  Are these actual meteorites? I knew you could pay to name a star, but meteorites?  I’m a little confused.  I also didn’t see the purpose in switching from alternating between using numerical digits or writing out the word.  Is it just to create interesting visual diversity?  Lastly, maybe I just have bad eyes, but I really had to concentrate or zoom to read subheadings.

2010-2011 Biennial report:  I thought showed some improvements from 2009.  There was more metadata, and the tables and graphs were easier to read.  They seemed to better convey information rather than primarily for visual stimulation.  It makes it easier for the viewer to understand the information given.  I liked that it also seemed to have a sort of “table of content” in the beginning providing some information on the report as well as organized charts/graphs.  The information in my opinion flowed much more logically than the 2007 report.

I commend Mr. Felton’s dedication and attention to detail.  Personally, I think it would drive me crazy to have to record and monitor every aspect of my life.  If he didn’t have OCD before, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did now!  What I think we should take from the Feltron Report is that there are endless ways to present information, and through practice, trial, and error, these methods are improved.   In addition, the reports show the benefit of being able to compare data from different periods.

For this exercise I chose to do an image overlay for the Thousand Islands, NY.  This region contains significant family history for me.  It is the area where my grandfather and his family grew up during the Great Depression.  My great aunt, my grandfather’s sister, had her eye on one of the islands for years and eventually purchased it.  When she passed away about 10 years ago, she left it to my father and our family.  Our little paradise “Shady Nook,” is still listed on Google Maps under it’s prior name “Holiday Island.”  The map overlay is a map of Alexandria Bay from 1903, reprinted in 1908.  Overall, the map matched up rather well.  Doing this exercise reinforced the idea that maps and charts vary greatly, and when utilizing these resources for purposes such as our digital history project, and that the resources we chose must best suit the purpose.

I highly enjoyed reading Thomas and Ayer’s “The Difference Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities.”  This article is an exemplary example of the benefits/limitations of digital history as well as how various techniques and methods are utilized to enhance the overall display and content.  In other words, they have put theory into practice. Thomas and Ayers used digitization to examine the role of slavery in the Civil War.  By digitizing they were able to evaluate various historical sources and combine them to evaluate the accuracy of historical accounts and draw new conclusions.

In the Presentation section of the website the authors discuss the background of digital history, noting key persons who impacted the movement in order to support why and how they approach digital history, and also the continuing challenges.  They provide useful information both those who create and those who utilize such pages, viewing digitization as a prism:

“We expect readers to turn its refracting light into new arrays of knowledge and material.”

Digitization as opposed to the old methods increases the ability of readers and scholars to get involved in the academic process.  Before digitization historical documents and textbooks were often filled with bias or inaccurate interpretations.  The ability to access and assess historical information digitally creates the possibility of easily comparing multiple sources and composing the information in a new way to draw new conclusions.  The author’s intellectual and methodical process is available to others to not only view, but involve themselves in the process.

Strengths of the website:

• establish intention, purpose, and credibility
• describes scientific method
• easy to use
• well organized
• working links
• charts, maps, and tables
• extensive metadata
• well cited